BRANT, SEBASTIAN

Brant, Sebastian: translation

(1457-1521)

Germanhumanistand poet, a native of Strasbourg, educated in liberal arts and law atBasel. After graduation he taught there in both of these faculties and in 1496 received a professorship of civil and canon law. He also worked as an editor for several Basel publishers. In 1498 he published a collection of Latin poems. His lasting fame, however, depends on his vernacularNarrenschiff/Ship of Fools(1494), which humorously criticized various social classes and professions and was soon translated into Latin, French, Dutch, and English. In 1501 Brant moved back to Strasbourg, first as a legal adviser to the city government and then as the city's secretary. The EmperorMaximilian Iappointed him an imperial councillor, and he served on several diplomatic missions.